For one night, congressmen frequently at each other’s throats slapped each other’s butts instead for a charity game of flag football, in the rain and mud, against the Capitol Police to raise money for the cop’s Memorial Fund. And they fought their bigger, younger, more athletic underlings to a tie! I’d rather hear this banter than the mindless paeans to “my friend” followed by rhetorical knives in the back:
Along with the hits and slips in the mud, there was plenty of good-natured banter across the scrimmage line. “Just remember when you’re out there that we control your pension!” said Renzi, after an especially solid hit from the men in blue. “You’ve still got to come through my post to make that vote,” shot back Sergeant Russ. Members also forged ties across the aisle. “When you meet with members of the other party in these settings,” said Mr. Wamp, “you gain an appreciation for them you’d never have on the floor or in committee. You see the person behind the ideology.”
What I can’t figure out is why Rep. Mary Bono, Sonny’s widow who’s still “got it” (she spoke at an event I covered recently), sat on the bench in “yoga pants” instead of cheerleading. But this is a very positive development. Maybe we can start a grassroots campaign for Congress to play more flag football and vote less often. It’s a winning combination!
I’m a tech journalist who’s making a TV show about a college newspaper.